The Values Voter Summit is co-sponsored by numerous organizations and features numerous speakers. Each speaker and each organization speaking at this event, or distributing its literature speaks and acts solely for itself and not on behalf or as a representative of Family Research Council Action, Family Research Council or any other sponsor. The views expressed by each speaker and each organization are solely those of the speaker and/or organization and do not necessarily represent the views of either FRC Action, FRC or any other sponsor.
The Honorable Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.)*
U.S. Senate
Campaign for Uyghurs
Senator Marsha Blackburn was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2018 and is currently serving her first term representing Tennessee. She serves on the powerful Armed Services Committee, Judiciary Committee, Veterans’ Affairs Committee, and the Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee. Before her election to the Senate, Blackburn represented Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District and was Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. Blackburn began her career in public service in 1995 when she was named Executive Director of the Tennessee Film, Entertainment, and Music Commission. In 1998, she was elected to the Tennessee State Senate.
Blackburn is originally from Laurel, Mississippi and graduated from Mississippi State University. While studying, she worked her way through school selling books for the Southwestern Company, later becoming their first female sales manager. Blackburn then worked for the Castner Knott Company before starting her own business, Marketing Strategies.
She and her husband, Chuck, have two children and two grandsons.
Dr. Benjamin Carson*
Retired Neurosurgeon, Author, and Former Presidential Candidate
Family Research Council
Dr. Ben Carson served for nearly 30 years as Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, a position he assumed when he was just 33 years old. In 1987, he successfully performed the first separation of craniopagus twins conjoined at the back of the head. He also performed the first fully successful separation of type-2 vertical craniopagus twins in 1997 in South Africa. Dr. Carson and his wife co-founded the Carson Scholars Fund, which recognizes young people of all backgrounds for exceptional academic and humanitarian accomplishments. The Fund operates in 50 states, has recognized more than 7,300 scholars, awarded more than $7.3 million in scholarships, and installed more than 1,150 Ben Carson Reading Rooms around the country.
Dr. Carson has received dozens of honors and awards in recognition of his achievements including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. He has authored nine books, four of which he co-wrote with his wife Candy. The U.S. News Media Group and Harvard’s Center for Public Leadership named him among “America’s Best Leaders” in 2008.
Born in Detroit to a single mother with a third grade education who worked multiple jobs to support their family, Dr. Carson was raised to love reading and education. He graduated from Yale University and earned his M.D. from the University of Michigan Medical School. He and his wife are the proud parents of three adult sons and three grandchildren.
Abby Johnson*
CEO and Founder
And Then There Were None
Abby Johnson is the Founder and CEO of And Then There Were None, a ministry designed to assist abortion clinic workers in transitioning out of the industry. Johnson has always been fiercely determined to help women in need. This desire led her to a career with Planned Parenthood in 2001, the largest abortion provider in the U.S., and caused her to flee the organization in 2009, becoming an outspoken advocate for the pro-life movement.
Currently, Johnson travels across the globe sharing her story, educating the public on pro-life issues, advocating for the unborn, and reaching out to abortion clinic staff who still work in the industry. Johnson lives in Texas with her husband and seven precious children.